As you know, Botcon 2001 has a tremendous line-up of guests this year. One of those guests is the talented Vince DiCola. He is the composer of the score for Transformers the Movie and is a yearly guest at the Botcon conventions. He has also been known to compose the theme for Botcon.

This year we got a chance to get a exclusive interview with Vince DiCola. It was a great opportunity for the site and myself. The interview was handled via e-mail, so I'm very glad Vince didn't mind doing a little typing. Thanks.

Now for our feature presentation. We are proud to present...An Interview with Vince DiCola:

Did you compose the theme for this years Botcon?
No.

If so,what was your inspiration for that theme?
n/a

Will you be performing the TF Movie score at Botcon?
You'll just have to wait and see!

Let's talk about movie scores for a moment. I believe that when a score is composed for a movie, the composer helps provide you with a certain musical effect which sets the mood. As a composer, what does it take to bring that musical effect to your audience?
To be honest, most of the time less is definitely more. Due to the nature of TRANSFORMERS, the 'busy-ness' of what was happening on screen called for some very adventurous music, but that was a very rare opportunity for a composer and one which was perfectly suited for my style of writing at that time. In most instances, the best film music actually plays the role of an additional character in a film, and more often than not, the less busy the music the better the film is served. I've read a lot of interviews with film composers who have stated their belief that great film music doesn't necessarily have to stand on its own and remain interesting apart from the film, but I don't happen to share that belief. I do agree that the purpose of music in film is primarily to serve what's happening (or NOT happening) on screen, but I have always tried to create music that DOES stand on its own and I think the music I've written for TRANSFORMERS is a good example of that.

What do you enjoy most about Botcon?
Performing for and meeting new people who seem to be genuinely interested in my music, whether it's related to this one project or not.

Do you feel participating in Botcon gives your music exposure to new generations?
Absolutely! This is one of the greatest benefits for me, and one I don't take lightly. I haven't done a lot of high-visibility film projects, and I'm very pleasantly surprised that my music to TRANSFORMERS continues to gain interest from new fans all the time, and in a lot of cases that interest extends to my other original music as well. So the BotCon experiences have been very valuable for me in that regard.

What is your favorite TF toy line?(ex, BeastMachines, Beast Wars, G1)
Who is your favorite Transformer character? Why?
I hope no one will think less of me for giving this 'blanket' answer to the
preceding questions, but I've always felt honesty is the best policy, so here goes... Even though I scored the movie TRANSFORMERS, the subject matter was never one that held a great deal of attraction for me. As a result, I never really formed an opinion about any of the characters in the movie or related products, etc. As I think I've stated at past BotCons, this project was simply one in a line of opportunities that was being offered to me at the time I did it, and the producers and I agreed that my style of writing was a good match to the kind of action movie they had in mind. I hope I haven't 'burst anyone's bubble' by saying any of this, because I certainly don't mean to make light of anyone's enthusiasm for the movie and its related products. The bottom line is, something about this movie obviously moved me enough to write some of my favorite music to date, and for that reason alone TRANSFORMERS will always remain very special to me.

Thanks for the opportunity to answer some very good questions, and I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Cordially,
Vince DiCola